#every heroine in a enemies to lovers arc be like

[rottentiger-art]

Any villain/moraly questionable character's evil actions can be forgiven if they eat pussy well

#I'm sorry I don't make the rules #every heroine in a enemies to lovers arc be like #loki laufeyson #kylo ren #l lawliet #hannibal lecter #daemon targaryen #erik killmonger #harley quinn #poison ivy #prince namor #kevin levin #jason todd #deadpool #catwoman #prince vegeta #the punisher #hela #jennifer check #well you got my point #(this is clearly a joke I better no see discourse in the notes) #problematic fave

[suzannahnatters]

Till the End of the Moon: Unconventional Enemies to Lovers

A few months ago I posted my own personal thoughts on enemies-to-lovers that don't cross my own personal red lines. Since then, I enjoyed watching the absolutely next-level cdrama TILL THE END OF THE MOON, which is a uniquely complex and delicious take on the enemies to lovers trope which goes way harder than any other ETL I've ever seen. In this post I'd like to break down how TTEOTM addresses each of my points in turn, and I think this will highlight two unique features of this story: the wonderful complexity of the characters' alignment between good and evil, and the way that the ending, while flawed, unconventional and not completely satisfying, nevertheless makes a certain amount of dramatic sense.

In case that wasn't obvious right away, SPOILERS AHEAD.

Remember that evil is not misunderstood.

This point is about keeping your moral categories straight and not treating something genuinely problematic as though it's just a misunderstanding. One of the really fascinating things about TILL THE END OF THE MOON is that you couldn't quite call Tantai Jin either evil OR misunderstood. Instead, he's a complex mixture of both - a man who uses demon magic, wears black, and tends towards vengeance and mayhem when he feels attacked, yes, but who deep down very profoundly just needs to be loved. The show proves this over and over. Tantai Jin only acts out when he feels threatened or betrayed, when his belief that no one will ever love him is validated by the actions of those around him. On the other hand, when people show love towards him, he responds with wary but genuine trust, affection, and self-sacrifice. Our heroine Li Susu and others are quick to misunderstand Tantai Jin, but this is mainly because of the sinister vibes that surround him on account of him being picked out as the Devil God's future vessel. So, is he evil or misunderstood? He's a bit of both, and the really delightful thing about this show is that it does a beautiful job of keeping its categories straight, resolving misunderstandings quickly but doing the hard yards when it comes to addressing Tantai Jin's propensities towards vengeance.

Enemies doesn't need to mean hatred or toxicity.

Every romance needs reasons for the characters to love and trust each other, despite the things that are keeping them apart. TILL THE END OF THE MOON, again, takes a super complex approach to this point as well. Both Li Susu and Tantai Jin have incredibly mixed feelings towards each other. Li Susu deeply hates the Devil God and throughout the show, the major obstacle standing in the way of her learning to love Tantai Jin is her hatred of what she believes he will one day become. This provokes her to whip him, betray him, and plan his death. But she also sees very clearly that Tantai Jin is a pitiable outcast who has only ever known hatred and suffering. When she defends him, he quickly warms up to her. Tantai Jin, meanwhile, has heard Li Susu's vows of undying hatred and hostility, but has no defences against her practical acts of kindness and self-sacrifice. When she starts telling him that she loves him, he believes it because he so desperately wants to. Then, when she betrays him, his hostility is born of desperation: he thinks her cruel and heartless for toying with him. And when she comes back to him, he's so desperate for her love that he accepts her without reservation, making himself wholly vulnerable. Is there hatred between these two? Undoubtedly. But it's allied with an equally irresistible love and compassion. Like all the best enemies-to-lovers stories, and more than most, TILL THE END OF THE MOON gives the characters a choice between a hatred that will destroy them and a love that can heal them.

Remember that ETL is a fundamentally transformative relationship.

Normally what I mean by this is that enemies-to-lovers will usually involve a profound character arc for at least one of the characters, often from evil to good. TILL THE END OF THE MOON tackles this particular element with incredible complexity. When Li Susu gets to know Tantai Jin, he's cunning and manipulative, but just trying to survive. The two of them embark on a deeply transformative journey, but it is nothing so clear-cut as a journey from villainy to goodness or vice versa. Tantai Jin flirts with villainy before ultimately drawing away from it. By the time he actually does ascend to become the Devil God in the final quarter, it isn't because he's become evil - rather, he's playing the long game, positioning himself and Li Susu to destroy the Devil God once and for all. The important part of Tantai Jin's character arc is learning to accept love from himself and from people around him, to the point that he no longer responds to perceived rejection with vengeful rage. Similarly, the show also brings Susu to a point where she is able to let go of her deap-seated fear of the Devil God. By the end, she has become able to trust her beloved and make herself vulnerable to him even AFTER he's become the Devil God - a truly incredible arc.

I've heard a lot of people saying that the show TTEOTM differs from the book TTEOTM sharply in that Show!Tantai Jin is much less of a villain than Book!Tantai Jin. Normally, this would impair my enjoyment - I'm usually the one shouting at the screen to LET your baddie be a baddie, for heaven's sake. Not having read the book, I can't actually compare the two, but I CAN say that I'm so impressed by how the show revels in shades of grey. Instead of simplifying the male lead's morality, the story allows it to be messy and complex. Neither Li Susu nor Tantai Jin can fit easily into good and evil categories. I appreciate this immensely.

The characters should be a match for each other, especially when it comes to power and to morals.

Similarly, I'm fascinated by how TILL THE END OF THE MOON treats Li Susu, our token "good" half of the couple. She's the Lady of Light, but in the midst of her crusade she's stubborn. She's cruel. She's vengeful. She spends SO MUCH of the story refusing to believe that Tantai Jin can defy fate, and when she meets him again after undergoing 500 years of suffering to find her, she still refuses to acknowledge that she is the woman who loved him, because she fears it will give the Devil God a new foothold in the world. Throughout the story she lies to him, betrays him, and wields or withholds her affection like a weapon. (This, combined with the long stretches of the show in which she is far more powerful than Tantai Jin, reverses a lot of common gender tropes in some really fun ways). In fact Li Susu is kind of terrible, and I love that for her and for the show because now it's not about a pure and good person suffering for the love of a villain - it's about two dark and deeply flawed people hurting each other equally. Similarly, Tantai Jin just isn't a villain, despite the aesthetics.

There doesn't need to be a HEA.

I don't think that every romance needs a happy ending - look at WUTHERING HEIGHTS. While it's imperfect, I don't think that TTEOTM has an unhappy ending per se. I trust that our boy is going to cultivate himself right out of that Heart-Guarding Scale. Tantai Jin and Li Susu definitely deserve their happy ending if any couple does - they've worked through their differences and are now totally vulnerable with and accepting of each other. However, it's fascinating that they don't quite get a HEA - or need to wait a long time for it - for reasons that actually sit pretty well with me. Namely, it was Tantai Jin's fatal flaw all along that he pinned all his sense of self-worth to Li Susu and couldn't face the thought of a life without her. This is that oddest of all things: a love story which cannot end happily until the hero is able to find love and security in people who are NOT the heroine. His feelings for Li Susu are not enough to cure him, because on the deepest level Tantai Jin still doesn't consider himself worthy of love and is willing to settle for whatever crumbs he can pick up off the floor. It takes the love of his shifu and sect brothers showing him that he is worthy APART from Li Susu, before he can learn to be healthily in love WITH her. By the end, it is this acceptance of himself and all the love shown by people who are NOT Li Susu, which enables Tantai Jin to consume the Devil God rather than to be consumed BY him. It is this which gives him the strength to accept death at Li Susu's hands without seeking to avenge or defend himself, and Li Susu the ability to trust him enough to follow through with it. Again, this is an incredibly complex take on a standard romantic scenario.

Love should be what the villain needs - but not what he wants.

What I mean by this is that if the villain is driven to villainy primarily in order to possess the heroine romantically or sexually, he ought not to get her. But TTEOTM is much more complex than, say, LOVE BETWEEN FAIRY AND DEVIL*, in which Orchid represents the moral growth the Evil Overlord needs rather than the world domination he wants. For one thing, Tantai Jin is not a villain when he first meets Li Susu, he never quite becomes one, and many of his most villainous actions are are direct response to her perceived enmity. They are self-preservation or revenge. Also, for much of the story, there is nothing Tantai Jin wants as much as Li Susu, and all his actions, good and bad, are either attempts to win her favour or retaliation for perceived or actual betrayal.

In retrospect, perhaps this was always an indication of how the story was going to end. Tantai Jin WANTS Li Susu to love him from very early on. But his need is quite different. He NEEDS to accept love and esteem from himself and from others, because so long as he pins all his sense of self-worth to the murder wifey he will never be stable or sane. One of the really beautiful things about the final quarter of the story, despite its messiness, is seeing Tantai Jin flower into someone who is finally able to accept his own worthiness. After so many episodes in which he's been suffering, paranoid and hurting, he's finally able to achieve an even keel - not through the Heartless Way, but through experiencing love. This time, when he feels threatened by the rejection of one person, he has the love of others to fall back on. Thus, the ending of this show was never going to be about whether Tantai Jin could love Li Susu: he has from the beginning. It was going to be about whether he could learn to see himself as worthy of love.

For Tantai Jin, additionally, getting what he needs doesn't mean that he can't also get what he wants. Tantai Jin has never been SO villainous - so cruel, selfish, and obdurate - that getting what he wants would be a grave injustice. And, getting what he needs - the love of others - is not incompatible with what he wants - the love of Li Susu. Indeed it's the only condition upon which he CAN have a healthy relationship with Li Susu. I think this is why the ending, as messy and flawed as it is, is not a dealbreaker and even makes a weird amount of sense. The fact that Tantai Jin clearly gets what he Needs prevents it all from feeling as utterly wasteful and stupid as, say, TROS did. And then the door is left just a crack ajar for him one to day to get what he Wants, too.

In conclusion, then, TTEOTM is an incredibly ambitious, complex story which goes harder than just about any other enemies-to-lovers story I can think of and sets itself up for an unconventional ending in making the core of its story about whether the hero can learn to love himself. While it's not perfect, I feel like it's an enemies-to-lovers masterclass which I'll be revisiting early and often.

* As a footnote, when I say that TTEOTM is less complex than LBFAD, this isn't meant as a ding. LBFAD is simpler and less ambitious, but also more successful. It's often the way.

#cdrama #till the end of the moon #tteotm #enemies to lovers #etl #writing #love between fairy and devil #lbfad

[theprincessofpowerremake]

no one asked, but here we go:

.

every spop-centered AU i have so far ( most of them are not public and just live in my brain or in some discord chat )

.

Virtues Universe - A universe that centers around Adora and Catra's ( positive ) sisterly relationship, Catra joining the Rebellion alongside her sister. Includes Adonnie and Catfuma ( Adora x Lonnie, Catra x Perfuma ) and Adora becoming a Rebellion Leader before becoming She-Ra ( in s2 ). I think this is the one AU I have where Catra isn't a bad person, lol.

Her Heart Universe - A universe where Adora is an alien on Earth, and is in the care of Mara and Razz. Includes learning values, social struggles, and episodic stories turning into a serialized "we gotta get our shit together or die" story.

Two Suns Universe - A universe where the key sibling relationship is Adora and Kyle, rather than Adora and Catra. Includes loving siblings, redemption arcs, Crimson Waste Kyle, and Kyle x Rogelio x Bow. Lots of Kyle love.

The Wilted Flower Universe - A universe where Adora's 'dead' ( bc Catra ), but her spirit resides, and She-Ra has taken over her form, desperate to keep her wielder alive. Includes a lot of violence, arguing, and blood, as She-Ra is unhinged in this universe and I love it. Not self-cest or a She-Ra x Adora AU, don't be weird.

Pearl Of The Sea Universe - A universe where Adora is a mermaid and Entrapta finds her in her boss' lab. Includes lovers to enemies to ??? ( entrapdak ), found family, and typical corrupted workforce.

Until It Ends Universe - A universe where Adora suffers from amnesia, She-Ra is an unknown entity, and the only thing she remembers is the Sword of Protection and is meant to serve it and its legacy. Includes folklore, forming friendships, ??? to enemies ( catra ), and discovering lost memories. Inspired by BOTW.

Ready To Go Universe - A modern universe where Adora and co use social media to boost their cafe's reputation. Includes Angella being Adora's mother figure, long distance relationships, found family ( again ), and cutting ties.

The Ghost Of Her Universe - A universe where Adora is a ghost, and a friend of hers tries to figure out how she died. And Glimmer and Bow are there too. Includes abusive background, manipulation of the higher-ups ( SW and Catra don't talk about why she died ), and friendly, but sad ghost.

To Be Loved Universe - A universe in the process of being reworked, but is essentially a s5 rewrite ( with some rewritten details of previous seasons ), and Adora is allowed to swear. Incluces Catra being a cunt and getting told to fuck off, rebuilding friendships, and an unexpected pairing.

Can't Sleep Universe - A universe focused around my c*tradora kid, Elizabeth Randor ( Izzy ), who is very bitter and angry with her parents ( mostly Catra ). Includes abuse, divorce arc ( that's a thing, apparently ), and healing.

The Whispering Woods Universe - A universe where Adora is raised by Madame Razz and Light Hope and is a fierce protector of the Whispering Woods, setting up traps and making spells. She-Ra most likely doesn't exist in this AU. Includes learning about the past, Grandma // Grandkid dynamic, and Adora being a nerd.

Desert's Flowers Universe - A universe where Entrapta raises Adora instead after the little one runs away from the Horde. Includes loving mother, family to complicated, strangers to allies to friends to ??? to enemies ( entrapdak again ), and Horde Prime being a douche.

The Lightning's Song Universe - A universe where Adora was locked away in the Prison Dimension for 100 years, and is considered a 'corrupted heroine'. However, Glimmer and Bow decide to unleash her, hoping she'd be their best bet against the Horde. Includes discovering the truth, unhinged rageful Adora ( we stan ), and earning trust.

The Soulmates Universe - A more historian universe where Adora and Bow have to fake-marry for social reasons, and struggle with internalized queerphobia as they fall in love with people that aren't each other. Includes best friends, what love really means, and identity metaphors.

.

Cross-Over Universes

Danganronpa - Adora is the Ultimate Warrior, who may be considered the 'second Mukuro', depending on who you ask. Is best friends with Sakura and Hina ( including others ).

Teen Titans - Adora gets involved in a freak accident and is sent to the TT universe and joins the group. Adora x Starfire is a thing.

Sonic the Hedgehog - Light-hearted fun, mainly just Adora thinking Sonic is really cool and vice-versa.

Mario - Again, simply light-hearted fun, Adora thinks Peach is amazing and has her as an idol.

Voltron - I know. I know. But she'd be best friends with Lance, and that's all the reason I need.

almost all AUs feature Catra getting her ass whooped.

#spop #she ra #spop adora #she ra adora #adora #adora deserves better #adoradeservedbetter #spop catra #she ra catra #catra #anti catra #anticatra #anti catradora #anticatradora #spop kyle #she ra kyle #kyle #spop aus

[sassybluee]

Dramas in 2023 roundup!

It's midway thru January, but it's never too late to reflect on the year before. I think I watched the most dramas I've ever had this past year, so I wanted to write a little roundup with my thoughts.

Here's an overview of the ones I completed!

Unchained Love (2022) ⭐️ 7.5

I've Fallen for You (2020) ⭐️ 8

Miss the Dragon (2021) ⭐️ 7

The Rational Life (2021) ⭐️ 9

Till the End of the Moon (2023) ⭐️8.5

A Romance of the Little Forest (2022) ⭐️ 7

Back from the Brink (2023) ⭐�� 8.5

The Starry Love (2023) ⭐️ 7.5

The Wolf (2020) ⭐️ 8.5

My Journey to You (2023) ⭐️ 8

Never Give Up (2023) ⭐️ 8.5

Ancient Love Poetry (2021) ⭐️ 9

Destined With You (2023) ⭐️ 7.5

Here are the ones I placed on hold/dropped

Legend of Anle

Love You Seven Times

Love in Flames of War

Only for Love (dropped)

The Snow Moon (dropped)

More detailed thoughts below the cut!

Unchained Love (2022) ⭐️ 7.5

Part palace drama, part comedy, this was a fun ride. I really liked watching the relationship between Bu Yinlou and Xiao Duo develop from friendship into romance. The comedy moments were really well done, and had me actually laughing out loud. The fight sequences were also really well done, and I liked the costumes. However, the last five or so episodes had such an abrupt tonal shift, and there were some questionable decisions made by otherwise smart characters, so it kind of fell flat at the end. BUT I would still watch it again, just maybe just skip the last eps.

I've Fallen for You (2020) ⭐️ 8

I didn't expect to like this one as much as I did. The basic concept is: childhood sweethearts try to find their way back to each other, end up married after a strange series of events, but they aren't sure their spouse is the childhood sweetheart they're looking for. It's silly, cute, and very good fun. I really liked the secondary couple as well. The ending managed to make me very emotional, which surprised me. And I enjoyed that the heroine was a fan of doing autopsies (something that does occasionally become plot-relevant).

Miss the Dragon (2021) ⭐️ 7

Okay, first off, I know this one has a reputation of being a bad drama. And tbh, I agree! Objectively, it's not very good. HOWEVER! The viewing experience? Was so fun. The characters? Very entertaining. The frenemy dynamic between the ML and 2ndML? Hilarious and also a bit gay. The FL is a bit flat, but she does develop more personality through her various reincarnations. My fave life of hers was the 3rd, I believe (the lady general arc). Wang Hedi's acting is not the best but I still think he's very cute lol and he's watchable! It's just maybe not what you'd expect from him if you saw CLJ or The Rational Life first.

The Rational Life (2021) ⭐️ 9

Yes, this was for a bit of a palate cleanser after the overall ride that was Miss the Dragon. I wasn't sure if I'd be into the modern cdrama genre cuz fantasy/historical is more my preferred vibe of media, HOWEVER, I wanted to give it a shot because I'd seen some cute gifs. I really loved it, far more than I expected to. Every character was really well done, and I really liked how the story was centred on women's experiences in various workplaces/times in their life. It also gave me age gap brainrot, I won't lie. I loved the gradual build from coworkers to friendship to romance with Qi Xiao and Shen Ruoxin. I will say tho... I would like to know what whoever dressed Wang Hedi in this show was thinking. Some of those outfits were... a choice lol.

Till the End of the Moon (2023) ⭐️ 8.5

Everyone has seen or at least heard about it at this point. Dare I say it's iconic? I won't lie, my rating upon finishing it was lower. I had issues with the pacing in parts and I found the last episodes difficult to get thru because they just didn't capture my attention the way the beginning of the drama did. However, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. Plus, the performances by Luo Yunxi and Bai Lu are amazing. And I really feel they embody the "enemies to lovers" trope better than anyone!

A Romance of the Little Forest (2022) ⭐️ 7

Tbh... this show deserves less than a 7, but I rated it as such because I love my queen Xinxin, and her chemistry with Zhang Binbin was good. I think this would've worked better as a 24-episode drama, as the last couple plot arcs felt kind of tacked on. It's great if you want to see Yu Shuxin in various adorable outfits and a fun fake dating plot, but maybe stopping midway is good enough. Fair warning, the second couple's storyline was awful on several levels. Essentially, the man lies about being in a wheelchair to garner sympathy with his crush, who herself is partially Deaf. Yeah, it's BAD. Just skip all their scenes.

Back from the Brink (2023) ⭐️ 8.5

I really enjoyed this, especially how silly it could be. They really amped up the humour, and to me that worked well. At the same time, there were also some very heartfelt moments that made me tear up. I really liked the side couples as well, they were all quite likeable. It was just a really fun show from beginning to end.

The Starry Love (2023) ⭐️ 7.5

I really enjoyed this, up until the last arc. I found after that, it dragged a bit. To be honest, it dragged a bit in earlier parts too. What saved it for me was the humour, the relationship between the two sisters, the Void Realm subplots, and the adorable Di Lanjue. Unfortunately, Yetan/Youqin didn't really do much for me, but I still found them enjoyable at times.

The Wolf (2020) ⭐️ 8.5

This was a surprise for me. I didn't expect I'd like it much going in, but I still wanted to give it a try for my guy Xiao Zhan. I'd tried watching it before when it first aired, but I found the first couple episodes too cheesy. I still found them incredibly cheesy this time, but after about midway through episode 3 when the main plot kicked off, I found myself really invested. Fair warning, Xiao Zhan only shows up in episode 11, so if you're watching it just for him, you may be disappointed. Fortunately, I found myself invested in all the characters quite a bit. If you like messy toxic bitches, this is the drama for you. Warning: there was an attempted rape scene I found quite uncomfortable (though it's not played as being romantic, thankfully). There are a couple other dubcon incidents I wasn't a huge fan of, and one character has a miscarriage. Just things to keep in mind before viewing.

My Journey to You ⭐️ 8

Where do I even start here? Once again, I probably should rate it lower, because the story itself is a mess. HOWEVER, the characters, aesthetics, and cinematography are all excellent. The characters are really what stayed with me the most, and the episode focusing on Yun Que was devastating in all the best ways. The beginning episodes were also fantastic, the way the story unfurled. It just became clear in the latter half of the series that the writer had written himself into a corner and didn't know how to get out. Frustrating, but I don't regret my journey with this show (heh, get it). It's for that reason I'm not sure I can ever rec it to anyone, but I'll gladly talk about it to anyone who will listen.

Never Give Up (2023) ⭐️ 8.5

This was a fun office sitcom-style drama that I really breezed through after the horror show that was MJTY. Lighthearted with short episodes, it was very enjoyable. If you've ever worked in an office, you can probably relate. Once again, I'd like to speak with whoever dressed Wang Hedi cuz they made some interesting choices lol.

Ancient Love Poetry (2021) ⭐️ 9

Another surprise for me. I had tried the first episodes a while back and found it a bit dense, but restarting it this year I found it a lot more interesting. Maybe having more xianxia general knowledge helped me out. It was a really beautifully done drama. The CGI and sets were all superb. There was a whole host of characters to get invested in as well. It was a truly epic story from start to finish.

Destined With You (2023) ⭐️ 7.5

The one Kdrama on this list! I really loved the two actors, their chemistry, and the plot in general, but the pacing in the middle took me out a bit. I would still recommend watching it, as there was lots to enjoy. The modern with magic elements were really intriguing, as was the concept of past lives. I also like that the ML and 2ndML work together instead of constantly butting heads once it becomes clear who the FL will pick. The flashbacks to the past life were also really interesting--I wish we'd had more of that tbh! I'll definitely be looking out for both actors in other dramas!

As for the shows I placed on hold, I will likely stop lying to myself and drop them. But I might give them another shot before doing so. I'm still really disappointed by Only for Love, but I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Not even the power of Didi and Bai Lu could make me do it. It just got too frustrating.

Now, I'm currently watching Story of Kunning Palace, Royal Rumours, and The Last Immortal. I'm not super sold on the last 2, but SOKP has really grabbed me by the throat (just like Xie Wei to Jiang Xuening) so I'm glad to be starting the year off strong!

#sassy watches #cdrama #long post

[wetcatspellcaster]

astarion 5th because of act 2? did you not like his act 3 stuff?

(also whats the deal with spike because ive seen other people really like him)

Ahhh, no, my top 5 wasn't in a chronological order! I meant it in an affectionate, not derogatory sense - as in, Act 2 content was what made him enter the Top 5. This is probably an overshare, but tbh the way I walked into my therapist's office two days after the hug scene being like "not only is my favourite character I thought was masking confirmed To Be Masking, he's developed feelings and he's also having asexual spectrum anxiety and asked for a relationship without sex" and my therapist made a very serious face and said "written specifically for you, then?" (I know this is not the case, but it's a fun anecdote for why Act 2 Astarion was my very own brand of heroine.)

I love Astarion's Act 3 stuff as well, which you'd hope would be the case as Larian clearly put a lot of effort into it! I don't enjoy playing Act 3 bc of the overwhelm, but I thought they handled the Themes and Motifs in that personal quest very well.

Also. Dying. What's the deal with Spike? A question many people have asked, in their time.

Spike is a vampire on Buffy the Vampire Slayer who, through popularity with the audience/viewership, went from a Season 2 antagonist (kind of like, the nicest of three evil vampires, who ended up switching sides in the final episode for selfish reasons - he wanted his hot toxic girlfriend back) to a season regular and love interest because He Was Just That Popular. He murdered vampire slayers as a hobby, and then fell in love with a vampire slayer over the course of like 4 seasons.

As a result, he has (what I think to be) an incredibly compelling redemption arc that basically hits every possible trope imaginable: fated mortal enemies (and it's kinda hot, don't you think?), token evil teammate, uneasy ally, forced-to-be-good-but-doesn't-want-to-be, enemies-to-lovers, belligerent sexual tension, oh no I've caught feelings, "I'll do anything for you", "I want to be good for you but I don't know how", "every night I save you", "I'm the only one who understands your darkness", hate sex - like honestly, just the hottest sex of the entire show, "you can't fix me but I can make you worse", "oh no making you worse didn't work I now want to fix myself", redemption arc for real this time - all through his own agency, enemies-to-friends, friends-to-lovers, platonic bedsharing, love confession, heroic sacrifice-

(I am literally not making this up these are all hit, they even have a Sex Pollen episode only it's "we think we're married bc of a spell and so we're making out on the couch" like I feel like Spike got every single fanfiction trope under the sun)

Generally, Spike is also just a sarcastic platinum blonde haired vampire man with a British accent who gets most of the funniest lines in the show and also has a pathetic meow meow backstory underneath his bad boy exterior, so I think there's a lot of ingredients that contribute to his overall deal tbh.

#asks #anons #the spike to astarion pipeline really is quite real tbh

[livlepretre]

Do you feel like there are any parallels between Spuffy and Klena?

Honestly, no, but they do share some similarities and parsing why they're still so different is a fascinating game in thinking about themes and overarching meaning in character relationships.

Obviously there is the most apparent similarity: both relationships involve an evil vampire and a human heroine either explicitly or implicitly coded as "good." Both Spike and Klaus show up with the clear and explicit goal of murdering the heroine, not because of the who the girl is, so much as what she is. Klaus wants to sacrifice the doppelganger, Spike wants to bag his third Slayer. Nothing personal. There's stalking and a lot of bizarre sexual tension in both instances. Both heroines are meanwhile preoccupied with their own deaths, because each are fated to die young, in a brutal fashion, one way or another.

But there the similarities really end.

For one, it's not really possible to compare Spuffy to Klena, because Spuffy is a full-fledged canon relationship that is one of the major pillars on which BTVS is built. Klena, of course, had its unforgettable moments, and had crazy levels of chemistry and potential, but is ultimately a fanon creation which is basically fantasy and speculation on what their relationship could look like.

So we are left with examining themes and imagery if we are going to examine the two relationships side by side.

This is the primary reason I think the relationships don't have any true parallels: the meaning and import are totally different.

With Klena, we are dealing with a relationship that is about power. Who has it? Does Klaus have power over Elena? Of course he does. He's a thousand years old, and if he wants to murder her in some creepy sacrifice, or use her body for its blood to create hybrids, what can she actually do to stop him? She's supernatural but still powerless... except, of course, she's cunning and resourceful and so her entire dynamic with Klaus is about how she can steal power back from him and treat with him as an equal, or better yet, how to get the upper hand on him. There is an implication of sexual fascination (at least on Klaus's part) given Klaus's past history with two women who shared Elena's face, and there are fascinating elements of being fated lovers tied into all of the death (Death?) symbolism, as well as passionate imagery such as the fire at the sacrifice which make it very easy to ship this in a very dark and twisted way.

Meanwhile, Spuffy is about intimacy. It's, in my opinion, the quintessential enemies to lovers story, because it takes two enemies who begin as strangers, and they get gradually closer and closer to each other, knowing each other better and better, until that line gets blurred. Until somehow Spike becomes the only person Buffy can confide in, and you get all of those lovely scenes in later seasons of the two of them on her back porch. Somehow, Spike becomes Buffy's best friend. And of course, there is a whole arc about redemption and the mutability of the soul and of character as well, and free will, and a host of about a million other things. It's not really about power though--Spike wins their first fight, but after that, Buffy basically trounces him every time, and Spike would have to have his one good night to beat her-- and death is more of an ever present theme in Buffy and her character development than it is something specific to their relationship.

There are probably a thousand more things to say about this, but those are my initial thoughts.

#thanks for asking #could not resist answering this right away haha #sevensistersofsussex #asks #spuffy #klena

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC Review: Twisted Secrets by Katee Robert

3/5. Re-releases 9/26/2023.

Vibes: (light) mafia, hard-nosed single mom, enemies to lovers with actual stakes, and immediate action (in every sense).

Olivia has been burned, multiple times, by her mafia family. She's determined to keep her daughter as safe as possible. So despite her eagerness to indulge in a no-strings relationship with Cillian O'Malley, she knows she shouldn't. She shouldn't! She really shouldn't. But Cillian is deeper than he seems, and she can't quite resist their immediate connection...

I think Katee Robert is a talented writer, but she is a bit hit or miss for me. I'm starting to figure out what works for me with regards to work and what doesn't--this wasn't quite a hit. But I see why this series is popular, and if you're looking for something on the gentler side of mafia romances (I wouldn't personally call this dark romance based on the hero) this could really work for you.

Quick Takes:

--I do appreciate that Katee's books often jump right into the action, both in terms of the sex and in terms of the story. Cillian and Olivia don't waste any time dancing around each other. They're immediately about it, and they hook up quickly. It's a real "bang first, get feelings later" book, which is a device I'm vocal about loving.

As someone who isn't a huge fan of the single parent romance (and I can't say this book changed that, but Katee was very restrained on the kid factor, so good job there) I did like that Olivia didn't magically become a flawless person because she was a mom. She's young. She makes impulsive decisions. She has desires beyond her child. That child does come first, but being a mom isn't Olivia's only identity. She was a likable heroine, and I got her.

--Cillian is... sweet. Yes, he's connected, yes, he's dangerous I suppose, but emotionally he's sweet and concerned about things like consent and making Olivia feel safe and checking in and so on and so on and so on. I'm realizing... that isn't really what I'm looking for in mafia romances (to be clear, I'm pretty sure that the mafia families throughout this series are Irish and Russian, which--different vibes from mafia mafia, but very much organized crime). That's not on Katee. It's personal preference. I just like my mafia heroes to be kinda the worst. They soften for their heroines, but they aren't immediately as civilized as Cillian.

To be fair, Cillian is dealing with some pretty clear PTSD and survivor's guilt and general fallout from a traumatic event. I just think that by setting this story after that event happens, you're removed a bit from a lot of potential tension. This is a guy who perhaps was worse in the past, and now he's trying to be better, and that's lovely, but... it just didn't really work for me. If you want someone who is theoretically bad but doesn't actually feel bad, this is a hero for you. I just would've preferred him to be rougher around the edges.

--For me, I think Katee works best in a heightened world where she goes for it a bit more (like her Bargain with a Demon series, or perhaps the Wicked Villains series). This felt restrained, which is not what I want in a mafia book. Now, if you don't read or like mafia books generally, this may not feel restrained at all. But when I compare it to my favorite mafia romances, it kind of does.

The Sex Stuff:

There are a solid amount of sex scenes in this book, and they're good and varied and satisfying. It's Katee Robert--she can write a sex scene. Because I wasn't really connecting with Cillian as a hero, I think they didn't super hit in my case. But they were good!

This is another case of "not quite dark enough" mafia romance for me. However, as I've been stressing... this could totally work for SO many people, and this is a re-release of a popular novel. So it has! Try it out if you'd like to try this genre, with a less insane, less mean hero.

Thanks to Forever and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#romance novel blogging #arc reviews #book reviews #books #netgalley

[monomatica]

Review : Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Stars

God I loved this book. Why weren’t there books like this when I was a teen? I can’t believe it’s YA because it’s a dark, edgy fairy tale that’s also a magical thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. It’s a story of enemies while lovers that truly hate/love/hate/love/hate each other which is a dynamic I’ve not seen written quite as deftly as Chen does here. It's both!

Violet is a prophet and a seer who is snarky and sassy making her kind of an anti-heroine, which is refreshing to read. Cyrus is the handsome and charismatic Prince charming whose life she saved when they were kids, and who has a curse upon him now that he’s about to take the throne. Violet works with his father the King and often lies and spins prophecies to help get the King what he wants. And what he wants is for Cyrus to marry in order to bring peace to the land, but Violet lies about her visions and exposes the court to a witch’s curse.

The magic and world is very cool, but for me I loved the lying and the bickering between them. It’s written so well, you can really feel it. Violet hates Cyrus so much that she argues with him at every chance she gets, while Cyrus taunts her with his charm, until they are kissing while bickering. It's just delicious. The ending is so dark and suspenseful with so many twists and turns. I can’t stop thinking about it!

“My curse, my ruin, my Violet – my heart is yours. It was always yours. Take it.”

This is an incredible debut novel and I’m so excited for the next book in this planned duology.

– Thanks to NetGalley & Random House Children’s for the ARC –

#violet made of thorns #gina chen #ya fantasy #ya books #book review #bookworm #booklr #booksbooksbooks #booklover #goodreads #netgalley #arc review

[kuronekonerochan]

Hi...how are you? If you don't mind me asking what are your top 5 favorite danmei novels (until now)? And why? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....

Hi, sorry for being slow at answering!

In no particular order:

Ok, so I liked the 3 from MXTX:

 - Grandmaster of Diabolic Cultivation/ Mo Dao Zu Shi 

This one I loved but it has a particular style that ppl might not like in that it feels jumpy, confusing and with information gaps while reading, even though eventually everything that matters does end up being explained...in other works this would probably be just lazy writing, but here it is clearly an intentional choice bc 1) she doesn’t do this in her other novels 2) this is in WWX’s pov and dude has heavy ptsd and adhd, plus he tends to pretend to take everything lightly as a coping mechanisms...all this put together and it’s easy to understand why the story has such an unreliable narrator that even the other characters constantly point it out. I ended up loving this extra layer of storytelling.

 - Heaven Official’s Blessings/ Tian Guan Ci Fu

If you’re in the mood for a saga type long ass novel with a ton of interesting side stories and side characters with a main character who is a true cinnamon bun in sweet romance with a side dish of sweet sweet aaaangst.

- Scum Villains Self Saving System

The most entertaining out of all of them. It manages to be a parody of two genres, both danmeis and wuia/jianghu harem het novels (fighter of destiny style) with OP leads, while also being its own cute and funny story with a heart to it.

From other authors:

 - Meatbun’s 2ha/ Dumb Husky and his White Cat Shizun 

What if someone took a look at the parody that is SVSSS and said...”no, you know what? This really deserves to be an epic, long ass, and I mean, topping old classics’ length novel packed with angst, filled with pain and topped with despair...and then we’re sprinkling some funfetti on top to fool y’all”...and you know what? that’s some good cake. (If you’re into cdramas SVSSS is to 2ha what The Romance of Tiger and Rose is to Goodbye My Princess).

- Priest’s Sha Po Lang:

Steampunk China plus creepy voodoo tribal ritual magic, involved in internal and external wars over petrol (with a different name) and with our leads in Iron Man suits, fighting, among other enemies hot young(er) hands on, on the field, western troop General, the Pope, that I can only visualize in my head as Jude Law. I tell you all of this nonsense just to say that instead of the ridiculous fun this should be, it ends up being a very compelling romance with lots of scheming and heavy plot and some heartbreaking scenes.

- The Golden Stage:

This is a court drama type novel with friends-to-rivals-to-lovers that is just the right length and compelling with not too many plot twists but two main characters who are really great both individually and together and this is the one out of all in the list I feel like re reading the most. It really is a solid read and I feel like I’m selling it short, bc it really is good. It is similar to Sha Po Lang and To Rule in a Turbulent World, a simpler version of those but not worse for it.

(Since you said top 5 and I’ve said 6, I regretfully cut down Heaven Official’s Blessing bc even though I love it, unlike MDZS or SVSSS, it didn’t feel like a standalone novel because some of the several storylines of the side characters that I loved were left open ended (although the main characters had a complete story arc), as if this book was supposed to be the first of a series and those characters would have their own spinoff books where I’d know where their story took them...except this really is a standalone, and so the lack of resolution bothers me).

>> Honorable Mentions:

- To Rule in a Turbulent World

This one doesn’t go in the top 5 list yet bc it’s not fully translated, last time I checked (tho it’s very near the end). As an ongoing novel, I adore it. If the ending isn’t terrible it might be in my top 3. It’s similar to the two above in plotlines but it has a quality to it that it takes care to make every character in it multidimensional. There are no good and bad characters, even the ones on the opposite side are given something that makes them relatable and human. Plus, the characters all change throughout the novel, most of all the protagonists and the novel gives itself breathing time between events where you just chill with the characters and learn about random things like agricultural practices. 

- The Wife Is First

This one is just that light fluff feel good one that is great to pick up from time to time since it’s on going. Dumb Jock husband did everything wrong in his first life, gets a re-do and from then on it’s adorable respect the spouse juice and awe of said spouse smarts. Cute. Also, there’s a baby pet tiger.

>> Others I did like, just not in the top 5:

 -Faraway Wanderers and Lord Seventh/Qi Ye by Priest:

Qi Ye is similar to To Rule in A Turbulent World/The Golden Stage/Sha Po Lang. I really liked it still, just a tiny bit less than these. Since it’s the same author as SPL and I think it was written earlier, I have to say, the writing only got better.

Faraway Wanderers is a short read, but you’re only gonna like it if you’re ok with amoral main characters (I guess that is true for many on this list but it’s more obvious in this one bc the novel and the characters are unapologetic about it).

- YuWu by Meatbun - Still reading it, but is isn’t grabbing me like 2ha did.

>> I assumed you only wanted danmeis as in period fantasy bl novels, but if we go modern, fantasy or not:

 - Silent Readings by Priest:

I love crime fiction novels (love Ding Mo’s novels) and this is that type of conspiracy, murder novel with smart criminals and smart investigators. Little romance, but still there.

 - Guardian by Priest: 

Priest is hilarious and except the last part that gets a bit heavy on the lore this is just a joy to read. Also pretty short.

- Advance Bravely:

I read it a long time ago and it’s okayish, with some cute and some weird, problematic characters. 

- Addicted/ Heroin:

Also read it (this is 2 books) ages ago...and this one is NOT cute. It starts out as a pretty normal, but kind of toxic very typical oldschool drama/manga romance right down to the step brothers’ trope....and then it keeps escalating to new levels of WTF am I reading?!! All I have to say for this one is, that while I cannot recommend it per se, nor say it’s good, the title really is fitting, bc it is addictive as f.

#ask #asks #thank you for the ask #addicted heroin cdrama #advance bravely #guardian #silent readings #yuwu #faraway wanderers #qi ye #tian ya ke #tian guan ci fu #heaven official's blessing #to rule in a turbulent world #the wife is first #the golden stage #sha po lang #scumbag villain self saving system #2ha #mo dao zu shi #svsss #priest #cnovels #cdramas #the untamed #bl novel #word of honor

[misscrawfords]

For the bad Austen take game: Fanny Price is boring. (I hated even typing that)

 Aaaaahhhh, you went straight to the jugular!

Mansfield Park was published in 1814, a year after Pride and Prejudice. The latter contained a spirited, active, and witty heroine. The former, a heroine who was shy, physically weak, and very introverted.

Fanny Price is actually closer to what a lot of contemporary heroines were like. Elizabeth Bennet, bursting in on the scene with her “pert opinions” and physical vigor and her direct challenges to the hero is not ahistorical because clever and witty heroines do exist in literature of the time, but she takes that to the next level.

The “perfect heroine” of the early 18th century in many novels was sweet, virtuous, morally dutiful, and somewhat passive. She was prone to fainting, basically had no faults, and at the end of the novel was rewarded with the love of the hero. She is not always a particularly interesting figure and often such narratives have a foil in a lively, witty anti-heroine who brings the fun to the novel but cannot be rewarded with a happy ending because she does not display the appropriate morals. That way the author and reader can get the pleasure of a “bad girl” or at least a “fun girl” without disrupting the expected didactic morals required of (many) novelists at the time.

Fanny Price and Mary Crawford are interesting variations on that. Fanny, like all of Austen’s heroines, challenges contemporary notions of what being a heroine was about. Austen does this in all her novels though Emma is the most obvious example. Fanny has many of the qualities that you would expect from a contemporary heroine but she is also not particularly attractive (a heroine should always be the most beautiful woman in the room) and it is hard to read her excessive passivity and not feel irritated by it. She has a much deeper inner life than most of her contemporaries of this type. We see her jealousy of Mary Crawford, we see her misery, we see her unrequited love for Edmund, her complicated feelings regarding her home in Portsmouth in ways that make her fully rounded internally, only little of that is spoken out loud. These feelings are very human and understandable, but they are not always to her credit and knowing them, we wish she could act on them. Austen seems to be asking the reader to take the classic novel heroine and then ask, “How would she really respond to novel situations?”

Austen’s plot also challenges expected novelistic plots. Edmund Bertram is not a satisfactory romantic hero. He is as quiet and rigidly moral as Fanny... except he blows all his convictions by his blind infatuation on Mary and he spends 99.9% of the novel oblivious to Fanny’s feelings or even that she’s an eligible woman at all. I have sympathy for him as well as for Fanny because he’s very young (only 22/23) and making poor judgements over women at that age and being an oblivious numpty over your childhood best friend’s crush seems pretty normal to me. Nevertheless, following Mr. Darcy, he’s hardly the stuff of dreams.

The character and plot that does seem more novelistic is Henry Crawford and his pursuit of Fanny. He’s handsome and rich and a bit of a rake. Then he meets Fanny who he attempts to seduce, falls in love with her for real, proposes to her and is rejected, then changes his behaviour, tries again and is accepted now that he is reformed and worthy her love.... wait. Rewind. That’s not what happened! Think this plot looks familiar? It should. Henry Crawford is what a lot of people think Mr. Darcy is who don’t understand Mr. Darcy on any level. Henry Crawford genuinely is a handsome bad boy who is reformed by the love of a virtuous woman after being rejected by her. And Austen teases readers with a redemption arc and a real enemies-to-lovers plot. But Henry is as real and complicated and human as Fanny and Edmund - he fails at the last hurdle and cannot complete his redemption arc. He relapses at the last moment. Isn’t that true to life? And is reforming a rake really Fanny’s destiny in life? She doesn’t think so. She sees right through his charm and hates who he is underneath. She doesn’t reject him as Elizabeth does Darcy because she doesn’t understand him; she rejects him because she understands him perfectly. She is the only person in the novel who does. I feel it would be a poor ending for Fanny to make her marry a man she despises and become the mistress of a large estate which brings with it the kind of social duties she must have been unhappy executing.

Fanny gets what she wants. She quietly, patiently does not change. She is surrounded by the superficial, the brash, the badly behaved, the immoral, the weak and she remains strong and stoical and by doing this and remaining true to her values, she triumphs. She wins. She gets the man she wants. She is truly and fully adopted into the heart of Mansfield Park with all her enemies and rivals removed. She is acknowledged as the best of them all. Without even needed to do anything except endure and stick to her guns, she defeats every big boss in her path.

These are not attractive modern values. Our concept of a “strong woman” (*shudder*) is Elizabeth Bennet. But not all of us are Elizabeth Bennets. Most of us aren’t in fact. Most of us are quiet and insecure and filled with envies, jealousies, private sadnesses. Many of us have experienced at some point less than ideal family situations and reacted not by being spirited and clever but by curling up in a ball and just waiting it out. Shouldn’t Fanny be held up as an icon for winning in absolutely the worst of circumstances? But she is an Aeneas in a society that only wants to read about Odysseuses and Achilleses.

Finally, another way in which Austen was distinctly saying in MP, “Hey, so, if you thought I was going to write another P&P, JOKE’S ON YOU, MATEY!” is that the entire novel is an anti-romance. Of course you’re going to be frustrated with Fanny and Edmund if you’re looking for a pair of exciting characters who fall in love and get a swoonworthy romance. But if you read MP as an examination of bad love, inappropriate love, selfish love, inexperienced love, love that taints and goes wrong through the eyes of a quiet and insightful observer who herself suffers the crushing and all too familiar pangs of hopelessly unrequited love - then you find a character and a novel that are rich, satirical, and deeply intimate and clever.

#jane austen #mansfield park #fanny price #mansfield park defence squad

[sailormoonandme]

Usagi’s Evolution as a Healer Goddess

The other day I saw a post discussing the evolution of Usagi’s fuku and it occurred to me how Eternal Sailor Moon’s costume was her first Senshi uniform to ditch the tiara. 

That in turn led me to consider how that kind of makes Usagi weaker as it removes a very useful weapon for her. After all, if you include the movies, Usagi uses some variant of Moon Tiara Action in practically every season prior to Stars.

However, dwelling more upon it I realized how this tiny change was all too appropriate for Usagi’s character development.

Firstly, by supplanting the Tiara with her Moon planetary symbol, Eternal Sailor Moon more closely resembles both Queen Serenity, her own Princess Serenity form and her future self as Neo-Queen Serenity. 

Since all three are objectively more powerful than Usagi typically is as Sailor Moon I think the change emphasises how she has ‘levelled up’ in her Eternal form. When combined with the angel wings, Eternal Sailor Moon shifts Usagi visually closer to her future self as NQS, which in the anime is implied to be her most powerful incarnation.* It is almost as though the visual was communicating that the Divine Miracle Magic that she’d previously drawn upon as Princess Serenity in Classic-SuperS had now become ingrained in her standard Senshi form and thus was more accessible to her. 

It was in thinking of her previous efforts as Princess Serenity that I inevitably recalled her duel with Metalia/Beryl in episode 46 and realized that Eternal Sailor Moon was the first time since Classic that Usagi’s default attack was a healing  technique not a destructive one. 

Moon Healing Escalation was Usagi’s first healing technique but until Starlight Honeymoon Therapy Kiss (and it’s later upgrade, Silver Moon Crystal Power Kiss) it was also her only healing technique. 

Between regaining healing techniques and ditching her tiara/other destructive attacks/weapons, I think this represents her subtle growth in both her power and status. After all, it is a sad fact of life that it is easier to destroy something rather than fix it, thereby making the latter far more impressive.**

This skewing towards healing power rather than destructive power is also (arguably) thematically appropriate given the nature of Sailor Moon as a female power fantasy as (rightly or wrongly) the act of healing is typically coded as feminine. 

We can even take this further by examining things from the ‘opposite direction’ as it were.

Consider that in the climactic final episodes of Sailor Stars, Eternal Sailor Moon’s healing technique actually fails her when used against Galaxia. In later episodes, upon adopting her Princess Serenity form (complete with larger and more obviously angelic wings), she uses a sword to duel Galaxia.

Obviously a sword is, at least predominantly, an offensive weapon and can therefore be viewed as symbolic of aggression; let’s leave any Freudian or gendered interpretations alone for today. Her use of the sword is highly uncharacteristic (in the anime). Even her explicitly offencive weapons (like the Cutie Moon Rod or Spiral Moon Heart Rod) weren’t as clearly aggressive nor obviously violent. Desperate times calling for desperate measures? Perhaps, but we might also speculate it was her subconsciously reacting to grief. Not only can grief make you act in ways you wouldn’t normally, but a sword after all was a weapon wielded by her lover in his Prince Endymion incarnation. Her lover whom Usagi had just learned Galaxia had murdered. In other words, amidst her grief she reacts by going too hard in the other direction after healing her enemy proves ineffective.

However, when all is said and done the sword fails her.*** Ultimately is simply escalates the conflict by prompting Galaxia to become Chaos Galaxia and thereby make Usagi’s chances of victory all the slimmer. If we wished to stretch things, you could perhaps say that this is a commentary about how war and violence ultimately begets yet more war and violence.

Even if that is an over extrapolation though, it still served to emphasis the point that a sword is not befitting of Usagi, that she was doomed to lose if she continued to battle with destroying her enemy as the end goal.

In fact, her road to real victory begins when she not doesn’t attack Galaxia but makes it easier for herself to be attacked. In the end, Usagi doesn’t confront her most powerful enemy as the God-Queen of the future, the demi-goddess Princess of the distant past, the sailor-suited soldier of love and justice in the present, nor even a humble school girl.

She does it by literally stripping herself of all those things, of stripping herself of everything in fact.

Her weapons? Gone.

Her other items, like her Tiare? Gone.

Her comrades? Gone, and they’d be powerless against Galaxia anyway.

And finally, even her clothes? Gone!

Beyond the Silver Crystal (an outward visualization of her heart/soul) and the angel wings (symbolic of her role as a saviour) she is completely (but tastefully) naked.

Usagi visually and quite literally is more vulnerable  than she’s ever been, even more so than on her first night as Sailor Moon.

And yet this is Usagi at her actual most powerful.

It is her distilled to her absolute essence as a person, all other trappings removed. She’d just one person showing another they will categorically not harm them, that they bear them no malice and they have nothing to hide. That openness and compassion is what ultimately enables her to connect to the good within Galaxia and pull her away from the darkness that had corrupted her.

Usagi in this moment completely fulfilled her character arc.

·      In the Dark Kingdom arc Usagi destroys (or seals away depending upon your POV) Beryl/Metalia.

·      In the Hell Tree arc, Usagi resolves the over all plot via a healing technique (although it is functionally similar to a destructive attack). However, that only happens because the Hell Tree both instructs Usagi to do that and because it lets her. It is the equivalent of a sickly doctor instructing a nurse on what to do to make them better. The nurse might have the power but their agency as a healer is limited.

·      In the Black Moon arc, Usagi, with help, destroys Wiseman/Death Phantom. 

·      In the Death Busters arc, Usagi does save Hotaru and ‘purify’ her. However, like the Hell Tree, that was something Hotaru wanted. Additionally, her purification functioned as a way to heal the body of someone sick and who wanted to sacrifice themselves, not someone actually evil. The evil in question was Pharaoh 90 and it is presumed that Usagi destroyed him (although it might’ve been Hotaru or the pair of them together). 

·      Forgive me for skipping the Dead Moon Circus arc as Chibiusa is the real protagonist there, and Usagi’s role is chiefly as a rescuer. It therefore doesn’t really apply, although the Nehelenia mini-arc from Stars is a different story. There, Usagi was a healer again, but she did it with the help of her loved ones and with the aid of her Tiare device. Nevertheless, we can see by this point Usagi’s capacity as a healer heroine had been gradually growing until we get to the battle with Galaxia.

By the end of series, Usagi has successfully healed Galaxia and it is neither with the aid of her comrades, nor with the power of a weapon or device, nor with any instructions from her ‘patient’ or any other third party.

Additionally, Galaxia (unlike Hotaru) wasn’t someone’s who was saved from a noble self-sacrifice or had a physical ailment that needs to be addressed. In Galaxia’s case, her very soul had lost it’s way and become corrupted. She had lost who she was supposed to be and her purpose in life had been perverted.****

When combined with how powerful Galaxia always was, how Chaos and the Star Seeds empowered her further, Usagi’s victory here cannot be understated.

Her ‘patient’ was more powerful than all her other adversaries, was in need of more healing than her other ‘patients’ and was more resistant to being healed. Not to mention, since she’d directly murdered her beloved friends (and indirectly aborted her future daughter), Usagi would’ve been forgiven for not  even trying to salvage Galaxia 

And yet, with no weapons, no backup and just the power of her heart and soul basically, Usagi succeeded. 

After Stars the idea that Usagi could heal the entire planet after a global catastrophe and reshape it into a fairy tale crystalline utopia was all too believable.

What’s healing one planet when her ability to empathise had already healed a whole galaxy?

Who needs a tiara to reduce evil to dust when you can simply convince evil to be good?

*This is arguably symbolized by baby Hotaru’s vision of NQS transforming into Eternal Sailor Moon in episode 1 of Stars.

In fact, we might argue that a low-key subplot running through all of Stars (both the Nehelenia and Galaxia portions of it) is gradually transitioning Usagi closer to the person she is destined to become as Neo-Queen Serenity, hence why the first episode features the most explicit reference to her fate as Queen since R. 

**Personally I am an atheist, but nevertheless I and others like me can grasp why  deities in most major religions through history weren’t simply capable of mass scale destruction, but also of essentially manipulating reality to create  things too.

By that same token, it’s little surprise that perhaps the widest spread religious figure in history was Jesus Christ who rarely (if ever) engaged in aggression or destructive acts, predominantly employing divine healing powers.

I suspect the attraction of such figures to human beings lies in the fact that on some level we know that, given the right time and resources, we mere mortals would be capable of destroying anything. Given time it’s all but certain we will develop the technology to even destroy planetary bodies. On the flipside, I think we also intuitively grasp that  reversing  such damage, of reattaching a limb, of stanching bleeding, etc, is far more difficult if not impossible. Hence we attributed the ability to do such things to larger than life Divine Entities.

*** Now that I think of it, it’s also poignant that Usagi tries and fails to defeat Galaxia with a sword when we take Sailor Uranus into consideration. 

Uranus is of course associated with her weapon, the Space Sword and, like Usagi, tried and failed to use such a weapon against Galaxia.

Giving Uranus a sword is symbolically appropriate given her role as the leader of the more aggressive branch of the Sailor Team. Having her fail against Galaxia and Usagi consequently fail by in some way ‘mimicking her tactics’ is equally symbolically appropriate. Not only because of their ideological conflict in Sailor Moon S but also their tensions in Sailor Stars itself. In both situations Usagi’s more open, less aggressive, ideology was ultimately proven correct. 

Thus in using a sword against Galaxia it represented how Usagi was always doomed to fail by taking the aggressive/destructive route and how she was arguably not being true to herself in that moment. 

****It’s not to dissimilar to Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker now that I think about it. 

#My Essays #Sailor Moon #bishojo senshi sailor moon #pretty guardian sailor moon #pretty soldier sailor moon #usagi tsukino #tsukino usagi #princess serenity #neo queen serenity #Neo-Queen Serenity #eternal sailor moon #Sailor Galaxia #Galaxia #queen nehelenia #nehelenia #Sailor Uranus #tenou haruka #HARUKA TENOH #Queen Beryl #Dark Kingdom #Hell Tree #Wiseman #Death Phantom #pharaoh 90 #Sailor Saturn #hotaru tomoe #professor tomoe #Queen Serenity #Darth Vader #Anakin Skywalker

[upside-down-uni]

Hey! Idk if this is too much t9 ask, but could you rec me 2, 19, 20, 45, 55, 63, 69, 71, 72, 75, 86, 104, 111, 116, 131? sorry if it’s a lot but thanks in advance if u can rec me some! :)

Hi, you're in luck! I have an essay to procrastinate on and this ask is just the right thing to distract me! Here you go, I hope you'll find something that you like:

2. a book with a blue cover

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman. When i read it for the first time I was just on the brink of going to uni, still figuring out what I even wanted to study and this book just wrapped me in a warm blanket and said "it's going to be okay". I love the main characters Frances and Aled, their arcs and especially the really nice and quiet queer rep in this book.

19. a book that put you in a reading slump

The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. When I start a book I generally have the feeling that I can't put it away until I have finished it. With The Knife Of Never Letting Go my problem was that I did want to read it but it didn't fit my mood, so I couldn't bring myself to read it but also beat myself up about not reading it until I put it back onto my shelf. So, I basically pushed myself into a reading slump over this book.

21. a book with a red cover

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers. I enjoyed this book so much but probably not for the reasons most people would think I enjoyed it? The wlw romance was definitely nice and I really liked them being dramatic but also kind of mundane? What really got me though was the strong theme of found family of young adults and queer friendships, that really yanked the yearning hours wide fucking open for me. (I also liked that in the end the book wasn't as much about romance as it was about finding yourself after surrendering yourself to academia for ages and working through your issues.)

45. a book featuring the friends to lovers trope

The Priory Of The Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. I adore this book. It's so long and there's so much incredible world building and history in it that it made reading an untter delight! Coming in it was a bit hard to acclimate to the slow paste but after a while I just settled in and enjoyed the ride. It's a breathtaking story in a breathtaking universe and afaik there's a second part coming!

55. a book with a satisfying ending

Yolk by Mary H. K. Choi. Yolk doesn't really have an ending in the sense of a "happily ever after" but I really loved where the author chose to leave the characters and how she did it. The book is quite different from what I usually read, tonewise, but especially that ending made me leave the book with a warm feeling. (also the cover is yellow and really really gorgeous)

63. a book that actually made you laugh out loud

I would've reccd Red White and Royal Blue but judging by your url you've read that already...sooooo, it's Snapdragon by Kat Leyh! Super cute graphic novel, with a weird and adorable storyline and such lovable characters!

69. your favorite mythological retelling

I haven't read a mythological retelling in ages, so basic Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan will have to do.

71. your favorite LGBTQ+ fiction

now that's just rude how am I supposed to choose?? I'll say it's Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire and Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and Loveless by Alice Oseman. I feel very strongly and very distinctly about all of them, if you can get your hands on them my only comment is READ. (and maybe make sure you're okay with gothic sci-fi horror for Gideon The Ninth)

72. a book with a gorgeous cover

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth. It's her adult gothic horror debut after The Miseducation of Cameron Post and not only is the hardcover just stunning in black and red, it also got illustrations inside!! (And all teh women are queer and it's deliciously fucked up!)

75 a book featuring the I'm not like other girls trope

I think the closest I can come to that is The Lady's Guide To Piracy and Petticoats by Mackenzi Lee. The main character has to unlearn a bunch of stuff really fast if she wants to get along with the only other people that will help her. We have road trips in the 16th century, kidnapping and asshole husbands to be, piracy of course and friendship!

86. a book with an insane plot twist

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand. Sawkill Girls was my first touch with horror and I have to say I have no idea whether there was heavy foreshadowing. I think I remember thinking that there was something else to come but when the shit hit the fan I just sat there with big questionmarks over my head because I had read the book in a frenzy in one evening and truly did NOT anticipate it. As someone who did not read horror or thriller before this I have to say I was already insanely confused and disgusted by a bunch of stuff that went down. But then...uh. the thing happened and I was just lost. (In a good way though.)

104. a fluffy sweet read

Let's Talk About Love by Claire Kann. It's been a while ever since I read it but it's essentially a cute summer story about Alice who's a disaster bisexual when she sees people she finds cute. Which is a little inconvenient because the new guy at her job is really, really, really extremely cute and she ceases to function around him. There's best friend drama, eating pizza iirc and figuring shit out!

111. a book writing a book

I assume it's either "a book about writing a book" or I am literally supposed to rec a book that is writing a book...I'm going to rec a book that is about books! (because I can.) It's The Girl Who Reads on the Métro by Christine Féret-Fleury and it follows a young woman called Juliette wo gets sucked into an old bookseller's world of life saving, life changing books. A really quiet, really cute book.

116. a book with multiple povs

the Reckless books by Cornelia Funke! Simply divine stroytelling, a vibrant world and amazing characters! I have to say that I only know the German original so I don't know what the English translation might be like.

131. recommend any book you like

um. so knife gang members and people who follow my main, you'll once again be subjected to me being a mess because of lesbian necromancers in space! I've mentioned it before, it lives in my head rent free, it is the one, the only Gideon The Ninth by Tamsyn Muir! It's an insane sci-fi horror fantasy blend where Gideon has to play cavalier to Reverend Daughter Harrowhark I-love-being- an-absolute-pain-in-the-ass-to-Gideon Nonagesimus to help her become an uber-necromancer (like Harrow needs motivation to become even more of a nerd and shockingly good at necromancy) for the Necrolord Prime/Undying Emperor. There's BEAUTIFUL WRITING sprinkled with MEMES when you least expect it. There is incredible toxic codependency and repression. There's MURDER. There's fancy necromancy theorems and DUELS. There's enemies to begrudging allies to ??? Staple your socks to your feet or this book will blow them clean off!

#book rec asks #mo answers #thanks for asking! #idk when you sent this ask but it popped up in my inbox just today so here you go!

[writingonesdreams]

Reading update

Currently reading 

Every enemies to lovers fantasy I find remotely interesting. 

Cruel Prince - I was avoiding this series for so long because I just didn’t get the fascination with faeries and I’m not a fan of dark murdering scheming. I just wanted to read the first 3 chapters and kiss this book goodbye - but the main heroine caught me in her clutches and I couldn’t stop. I got enchanted by the world, but Jude being so emotionally understanable and relatable, I just felt so much for her and her reasons for doing what she did. I’m fascinated by Madoc, he is such a complex murdering father and mentor, I love what he and Jude have together and that despite being caring he is a brutal war loving person. Cardan was scary, then got complex and at the end kinda fun, but I have seen too little of him in the first book to really feel attached to him - I’m starting Wicked King right away to see what happens. I’m still waiting to inspect what will transform Jude and Cardan from enemies to more, cause desire, jealousy and hunger for power aren’t excactly ideal base. 

Serpent & Dove - Witch and a witch hunter forced into a fake relationship and cooperation? Can’t wait what this book has in store. I loved To Kill a Kingdom, which was a siren and a siren hunting prince joining forces and this is a direct rec with high ratings. Just hope there is a magic system here, I’m missing it. 

Enchantment of Ravens - This one came to mind after Cruel Prince sold me on the fearie concept and I love the premise of powerful arrogant beings like fey not being able to create, an ability reserved for humans. And it’s supposed to be enemies to lovers as well. I’m on mission to explore this trope from all angles. Plus it’s a standalone! 

We hunt the flame - A prince who kills for his father hiding his compassion and a rebellious girl that fights to save her people in a enemies to lovers fantasy with some bromance sprinkled within? High hopes for this premise.

Finished books, Books on writing, magical books and more under the cut 

Read

Riyria Chronicles - I loved the first book of the prequels, I love Hadrian and Royce as a duo of idealistic knight and cynical assassin that work together, the banter, the hurt/comfort. I loved how their bond developed from deadly enemies to friends, that they stuck together, that there was a whole epic series of the two of them. But the completely destroyed it for me with the addition of Gwen as the love interest for Royce he was ready to leave everything else for (even just die on the spot). Hadrian, goals, the magnificent slow friendship development and new values didn’t matter because the author wanted Royce to love Gwen, so I guess we were just supposed to love her too - for no reason. She was so incomplete and her prophetic powers so convinient it was insulting. I am still salty over leaving this universe after three prequel books, but the bromance brought me to it and the action plots with royals, murders and schemes are just backround noise I can take, when the emotional arcs and relationships work - which they don’t. A shallow love interest ruined it all. 

Uprooted - I have mentioned this book before after I read it. It’s absolute brilliance, with a grumpy powerful mage who likes order and beauty and a chaotic mage apprentice who works with instincts and nature. Oh and there is that dark sentient forest trying to devour whole villages, a magical river called Spindle and a really beutiful and deep magical world. Plus the enemies to lovers romance is subtle and amazing.

Spinning Silver - Wrote a review few months back, but basically 3 very strong heroines with interconnected fates, fire demons and ice kingdoms. The world and writing are magical, but the enemies to romance is quite unsatisfactory - they are basically enemies the whole time and skip over to a wedding at the end. 

Radiance -  A cute friends to lovers story about a political marriage between a fantastical race and human royalty, that were disgusted by each other’s appearence but learned to love each other like friends and later fell in love romantically too. The bond was well-developed, and the pacing was enjoyable, with the world having some interesting ideas, but overall it was plain and underdeveloped. I can’t really put my finger on it, because everything seems right with this book, but it left me feeling empty. There was no thematic significance, no message, just a fun comfy journey, which isn’t wrong but it left me unsatisfied and not at all interested in the sequel.  

Stolen Songbird - A trilogy about the world of trolls, with the heroine being kidnapped, forced to marry a prince who only pretends to hate her while preparing a revolution and a curse that keeps them trapped underground. I loved the concept, the first half was great,...but then it went downhill. The plot started to be way too convinient, I could see the author wanting to make situations happen that made no sense for the plot and happened unnaturally, which kept breaking the story immersion. There was no setup for key events, the love went from little attraction signs and kindness to forever proclamations in two chapters...very disappointing. I finihsed the first book, but I’m dropping the series right there. The ending with the sudden relevations about magic insulted my intelligence. 

Want to read

Pick of titles about the power of books and libraries, with either characters coming to life or books being magical. 

Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep - A guy who can read characters into life, characters reflecting the interpretation of the person who read them with several versions of them running around and a story of two brothers with some tensions. 

Mr Fox - A female protagonist visits her author to convince him stop hiding behind killing all his female characters off and focus on what emotionally matters to him instead. 

The Library of Unwritten - There is a place in hell for unwritten stories and their characters sometimes try to escape to make their authors finish it. Oh and there are demons and angels and a Muse as a character. 

The Midnight Library 

The Invisible Library - Magical library that travels through time and worlds with dragon shifting assistent and maybe some romance. The crime chase isn’t really drawing me in but the concept of the profession is really cool. 

Stuck from the old to read list

Addie LaRue - It’s Schwab, it’s an amazing concept, it’s about art and immortality and devil deals. The first two chapters didn’t catch me yet, so I’m waiting for my mood for this to return. 

Magic Bites - Strong voice, great complex supernatural world, magic and vampires and shifters in one place. The murder investigation ain’t my thing though, so I got stuck on the 4th chapter and kinda forgot about it. Not a good sign, but it seems like a quality series (it has 10 parts and a huge following). 

Flowers for Algernon - A famous science fiction classic about a man who goes through an experiment to gain intelligence, becomes a genius and watches as his friendships fall apart and the world reacts a lot differently than he thought. 

Lady of Rivers - I loved the White Princess from Philippa Gregory, so the historical romance and politics here can be trusted, so I’m curious. 

On writing

Writing for social scientists - Came across this as a rec from school, but it has so much about the writing process, discipline, how to handle the need to be perfect and how to edit and work on drafts, accept criticism...lots of parallels to fiction writing, I’m stunned. 

Outlining by KM Weiland - I love KM Weiland’s blog about writing, I love her voice and tips and ways. This book is fun, well-structured, with lots of tips on organizing and structuring and it gave me, a pretty experienced outliner lots of new tricks and ideas to try. I read this and fill in for my story and it’s quite helpful. 

Writing from the Inside Out: Transforming Your Psychological Blocks to Release the Writer Within by Dennis Palumbo - Writing books are very hit and miss. I hated Bird by Bird and Thorn necklace, those are just whiny biographical essays like I care about the details of the author’s life when I don’t know them and just came for the tips. I loved Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and The Courage to write though, the two are my personal bibles. Dennis Palumbo is very to the point with his psychological take on writing and on being enough and it hits all the sore spots and makes them better. 

Letters to a young novelist - Philosophical book on writing in letter style that reads nicely if a bit heavily sometimes. I love the format and the thoughts, but it requires focused reading and quiete enviroment to understand everything. 

#writeblr #bookblr #fantasy books #enemies to lovers #cruel prince #the folk of air #serpent & dove #riyria #addie larue #magic bites #enchantment of ravens #uprooted #spinning silver #radiance #stolen songbird #books on writing #riyria revelations #riyria chronicles #reading update #currently reading

[akampana]

Anime asks 19 and 26

Hi!!!! ヾ( ˃ᴗ˂ )◞ • *✰

edit: i forgot to say i answered 26 recently so ill just answer 19 huhu

19. Favorite Anime Ships

oh god okay here we go. I'll do 5 cause there's no way I can discuss them all. Non-Fate since you already know my opinion on that. (harem au go brrrrrrrrr)

1. C.C. and Lelouch from Code Geass

I'd like to start off my list with my favorite Witch and Warlock. Lelouch's little harem was a pretty cool sideplot to one of the best animes I've ever watched and I've always liked how each of his heroines liked an aspect of him. (Kallen liked Zero, Shirley liked Lamperouge, while C.C. liked the real him without either mask, Lelouch Vi Brittania)

But the connection between him and his green-haired partner in crime was just divine. Their fateful encounter began a powerful alliance that could floor entire nations. She gave him the power he needed in the hour of his greatest need and he found out her true wish. I always like pairings with strong themes and they do that for me. I cant word out everything i feel for these two rn but god, I will never be over them.

2. Gajeel and Levy from Fairy Tail

I don't think there's ever been a shounen manga that had me scouring through pages just to find the tiniest clues about a ship. That's what Gajevy did to me. These two had the best enemies to lovers arc because step-by-step you get to watch Gajeel's redemption and Levy's struggle to be stronger side-by-side. Even if they weren't the main focus of Fairy Tail, just seeing these two slowly go from being awkward, to developing a friendship, to catching feelings, to BEING SEEN IN MANGA PANELS WITH THE TINIEST GLIMPSE OF A BLANKET WITH THE SAME PATTERN, to confessing, to that blushy whisper in the final chapter. Yeah. They're great. Best ship in Fairy Tail.

3. Shion and Yayoi from Psycho-Pass

I really like when relationships are just you know, running in the background like its nobody's business and I have to claw for crumbs and this is that. Like, when the bed scene dropped showing the two hottest women of 2012 with EACH OTHER my jaw dropped along with it. *inhales* *exhales* Psycho-Pass just delivers on bloody every aspect, I swear.

4. Hyuga x Riko x Teppei from Kuroko no Basuke

And again with the ships running in the background like its nobody's business, my GOD I went down a rabbit hole with this one. I was really enjoying Riko's dynamic with Hyuga I thought they were kind of great together parenting the rest of the team and then boom Teppei arrives and she's the only one that calls him by his first name and OHOHHOHOHO what is this that I sense is it HISTORY??? and yes it is, they used to date. So while I was crying relating to the athlete angst (i was a swimmer, not a basketball-er but yknow) going on I was also checking to see glimpses of the interactions of these three, like full on looking in backgrounds and stuff. Off the top of my head S1 EP21 dropped a TON of shipping fuel for me, with the way both Hyuga and Teppei's reactions to her cooking. Look me in the eye and tell me they don't love her. I dare ya. plus Teppei and Hyuga have a healthy relationship with each other too. It's a very subdued love triangle and it lasts the whole time, I love it.

5. Vi and Cait from Arcane

Wanted to add something more recent, so guess what I just watched. HAHAHAHAwheeee. Brainrot. You ever see two characters whose eyes connect ONCE and sparks fly. Yep, that's exactly how I felt when I saw these two. Every second of screentime delivered. Every interaction was with purpose. Arcane didn't have that many episodes, so to showcase a relationship so strongly in essentially the latter half, was great. Watching them was a joy, and for anyone who hasn't checked this out yet, yáll should watch Arcane, even if you don't play League. (I don't, but my friends pushed me to watch and yep. Loved it.)

Thank you for the ask! :D

ask

#akampana asks #there are too many ships in my inner filing cabinet #but i didnt want to talk about the ones that i like that are already super talked about #these were the first I dug up #ANYWAY WATCH KUROKO NO BASUKE AGAIN AND LET ME DRAG YOU WITH ME DOWN INTO HELL MWAHAHAHA #is it TEPPEI OR IS IT HYUGA #WHY NOT BOTH #RIKO HAS TWO HANDS #yes so as you can see ot3/love triangle brainrot as always lmao

[mejomonster]

i have such specific wants when i go into a romance xianxia and because usually I don’t get them, i rarely get interested in them...

what i want/prefer:

demon love interest and/or main protagonist

for that matter, demons (and/or demon clan) are written as another clan with nuance more than just ‘default evil’ (if it’s evil I want reasons given and motivations)

related, if heavenly clan (or a ‘noble’ cultivation clan) is abusive then the narrative does not handwave forgive it (if they’ve done things wrong i want those things acknowledged)

 ideally if there’s any female leads, some of them kick ass (ideally the main lead, ideally all but i’ll settle for some)

female leads tend to take the pursuing role in their romances and/or they tend to take on that role during the romance tropes (Fengjiu in Eternal Love, Xuanji in some ways in Love and Redemption and particularly when it came to the romance tropes - so the girl makes the first move with kisses, with sleeping in bed together, rescues her love interest, initiating a date or getting to know each other, stands up for her love interest). i’d prefer a pretty balanced relationship but if a drama is going to use a lot of romance tropes (which most do) I’d prefer the female lead doing more pursuing and protecting (even the princess in Romance of Tiger And Rose does these roles in her romance arc with the musician so a woman who isn’t a warrior can still take these roles in the tropes, same with Fu Shou in Secret of The Three Kingdoms - she often takes the lead with Liu Ping and protects him until he figures out how to do those things equally for her too). The only drama I can think of where the female lead was the one generally not doing these was Goodbye My Princess (and i’d argue early on their relationship is pretty equal in pursuit/protecting each other, its just once their lives fall apart the princess wants him dead then forgets him and things become a lot more reliant on him still befriending her again/wanting to protect her even though he should stay away from her)

which leads me to - i like a bit of messed up characters. not necessarily with the main romance, but some main character in the show who’s just completely lost their grip. they may or may not become nicer over time, but at some point i’d like them to be unintentionally or intentionally destroying lives (think Jin Guangyao, prince in Goodbye My Princess, murder prince in Romance of Tiger and Rose, Yan Da in Ice Fantasy - who quickly gets kinder tbh but her initial position as ‘enemy’ was fun, Bai Lin in Love and Redemption was horrific but I loved him For being so hateable and destructive and influential it was compelling to watch, the judge in The Devil Judge is a decent example of a grey area character like this, Jiang Yuelou starts out this way in Killer and Healer - though he gets less at-odds quickly once he’s got time to be understood, Ye Zun from Guardian is a MAJOR example, the ‘dark’ side of the main character in Fairyland Lovers is an example, in Rattan our lead Si Teng is both the heroine and somewhat the unhinged killer until both the audience sees why she’s justified and she softens to the mortals around her who aren’t who she wants revenge against).

some themes in the show that are deeper than “good versus evil” in a broad clans fighting kind of way. if a show IS going for Good versus Evil in a broad way, i’d like it to delve into WHAT is good (Guardian starts with dixingren ‘evil’ then gets more nuanced until its ultimately government abuse that’s one of the key evils addressed, Love and Redemption unfolds more and more until its ultimately clear Absolute Power/Abuse/lack of consent/prejudice/hypocrisy are the evils being addressed and actual clan-allegiance means nothing, Secret of the Three Kingdoms because of its unique protagonist delves into how things can be done in harmful ways or kinder ways even when every party has good personal reasons/fears for doing what they do, Ice Fantasy’s biggest evil so far has been people making brutal choices because they think they’re ‘justified’ and the harm that causes, Eternal Love failed me on this front because a lot of the ‘evils’ that were more nuanced in the show are never addressed or delved into)

ideally some additional themes that relate to whatever character arcs are being told (examples would be in Guardian the balance between ‘true desires/self/beliefs’ and societal role is huge, in Love and Redemption consent is SUPER relevant for many main characters as is prejudice, in Ice Fantasy conflict between meeting country/familial expectations versus caring for people you love/yourself are major topics because of the specific characters focused on)

good character arcs, at least for the main characters (i... i cannot do a story if character arcs are inconsistently written... i can’t)

no blatant homophobia or gender role pushing as far as like the writing is depicting those things as good. (i don’t mind if the story being told Has a society with these elements - Goodbye My Princess clearly has different expectations for different genders, Secret of the Three Kingdoms female leads have to navigate their political situation and fight in different approaches like by political influence or assassination compared to the male leads who can get a bit more directly involved. What i mind is when it feels like the writing’s narrative is telling me ‘homophobia is justified’ or ‘women are SUPPOSED to be a certain way’. Biggest easy comparison I can make is Love and Redemption in which gender roles wise everyone seems to pretty much do whatever they want/act however they want - we have agressive Ling Ling who’s just as ‘rough’ as The Untamed’s Jiang Cheng, Sifeng who’s as reserved as the typical pure maiden, Xuanji who is expected to live up to her clan’s skill expectations and clans have no problem using as a figurehead once she has power - she’s also God of War - she’s also nonbinary thanks LaR. Compared to Ashes of Love where the heroine was constantly pressured to ‘look like a woman instead of nonbinary or a man’ and ‘act like a woman and flirt like one’ and ‘no girls can flirt with her cause girls shouldn’t like girls’ and it was so Hostile in its pushing i couldn’t take any more (especially given the nice premise in contrast - we could have had an ace protagonist who cares zero about gender but the writing was so hostile to those identities later). Versus Eternal Love which? I actually think did fine in this regard - in Eternal Love women do tend to have some different overall roles that seem more common, but women can also be warriors and leaders like Bai Qian though she had to jump through some extra hoops, gay people exist in the narrative and its a nice part of it even though obviously straight couples seem to be more ‘expected’ in the story’s universe. Basically, Eternal Love feels like there’s some expected flaws/differences society seems to have, but the narrative itself thinks even with those ‘in story societal structures’ gay relationships are good, women who don’t fit expectations are good, the writing’s narrative isn’t in aggressive support of any hurtful beliefs. My standard is at Minimum a xianxia’s got to be like Eternal Love (which I’d argue Love and Destiny also does fine).

ideally would love some of the usual standard tropes of this genre subverted or just something else used. So for example: heroine as god of war is a fun deviation from the usual man god of war, demon being the main love interest instead of second-love is nice since demons usually don’t get to be the main-love, demons as main protagonists since they usually don’t get to be, some demon side characters who have happy endings - instead of me having to assume they’ll automatically suffer, cultivation sects that have morality problems - which is sometimes present in this genre to be fair, cultivation sects/mortals and actual Immortals interacting - just because i’ve rarely seen it (Love and Redemption and Ice Fantasy do this and I love the immortal/mortal worlds interacting), main bad guy is not the Demon King (just cool to see something else), heavenly clan ruling family either is Not Abusive (never seen it but it’d be nice) OR their cruelty is not forgiven by the narrative (LaR criticized heavenly clan’s moral abuses Well), present-lives in the story being treated in a way as ‘new people’ instead of just mortal forms of the characters (I’d argue LaR does this differently depending on which character which is a fascinating approach - Bai Lin is functionally ‘the same’ as a mortal, Sifeng’s past god and immortal lives seem different than his current self, Xuanji is both distinctly different but also once she recovers memories and sort of ‘integrates’ all her selves, Fairyland Lovers REALLY does this which makes it impressive and stand out among reincarnation-love-stories tbh), when mermaid clan/fox clan/other non-Heavenly/non-Demon clans are used in interesting ways (as in they deliberate between which side to be loyal to, or stay out of Heavenly/Demon fighting, or ally with humans, or like in LaR’s case where they’re viewed automatically as ‘demon’ aligned rather than heavenly aligned).

secret identity shenanigans (I RARELY get this, but Sifeng sort of meets this mark with his secret background he hides, Bai Qian even had it a bit in Eternal Love, Ying Kong Shi has it a TON in Ice Fantasy, both of Word of Honor’s protagonists have a secret identity as pretty big leaders, Guardian of course has Shen Wei’s secret identity which is one of my Favorite tropes in stories)

I haven’t seen The Legends yet except for a few opening episodes, but I know that’s a rare one that would probably click with my tastes (demon main characters, early on the cultivation sects are painted as having serious moral issues wanting to kill an innocent boy just cause of his background, main heroine is the protector/fighter in the initial dynamic). Other than that I can’t think of any xianxia I’ve heard that really align with my tastes...

#rant #xianxia #cdramas #not all the examples i listed are xianxia obviously #i mean im gonna love 2ha's hyx whenever it comes out anyway #but like. to be fair a decent part of it is like. hyx lead will be a Bratty 'villain aligned' Mo Ran initially! #and a BIG theme in 2ha is how fucked up the sects are and how they aren't truly morally upright while people like chu wanning are #both things i really like and prefer in xianxia i watch

[st-just]

Semi-coherent Thoughts on the Poppy War Series

(Because I really need to start forcing myself to write semi-consistently again)

So I’ll say outright that I actually liked the series quite a bit, which does mean I actually got engaged and invested enough to start turning it over and picking it apart in my head after I finished it. So, like, this is probably going to come across as more negative overall than my actual opinions of the books.

Anyway, first off I really do adore Rin as a protagonist (I’d say ‘heroine’, but, well, no). Now partially this is because I always love even minimally sympathetic morally grey (..grey like coal soot, in this case) protagonists. But she’s just also such a complete garbage fire of a person, it’s kind of endearing. Well, that’s a bit callous – her entire personality is more or less a conflict between different kinds of unhealthy responses to powerlessness and trauma. Be she’s also just such a mess, and when she really starts leaning into delusions of grandeur you can’t help but root for her and hope things do actually turn out okay, regardless of how many fivers of blood she’s currently fantasizing about creating.

A big part of that is just how thoroughly awful the entire setting is, and how terrible everyone in it are, of course. Like, there are basically exactly three developed character in the entire trilogy who are unambiguously at least mostly good people (Chen, probably Venka, specifically the amnesiac and semi-delusional version of Jiang, but that’s being generous), and the fact that they stick around with Rin right to the end kind of puts that into doubt, honestly. Beyond that – almost every family has negligent or abusive parents, and literally every political figure is a bloody-handed tyrant ruling through violence and fear. The Hesperians are racist imperialists convinced they have a divine mandate to conquer the world, the Mugenese are every horror story from the IJA during WW2 translated to a pre-industrial fantasy setting, the ruling elite of Nikara are so many racist, scheming, power-hungry snakes with no concerns except their own position....

And, part and parcel with how terrible the setting is, Kuang does an incredible job of making all the worst things Rin does (until the final act, anyway) incredibly cathartic and badass and fun-in-a-fucked-up-way to read. There’s a terrible sort of awe while she turns the main islands of not!Japan into a pyroclastic hellscape. And whenever she gets a chance to enact any of her numerous revenges on some of the many people who abused and betrayed her it’s always poetic, in a Count-of-Monte-Cristo sort of way, and so kind of sickly compelling, even beyond it being some of the only times Rin’s really hopeful and happy. (Also, there are fun villainous monologues and quippy post-murder one-liners!)

Also, all forms of love are a terrible idea 100% of the time and is only going to end in at least one of the parties dead, abused, or (more or less literally) killing themselves in order to keep up with the other/earn their approval/try to keep them together. (I mean, Rin mostly had horrible taste in men, but Chen wasn’t able to stay mad at her for longer than a few months even after the whole ‘genocide’ thing, which he’s just about the only person to react to with any horror whatsoever. And look at how that ended up working out for him, so-)

I’m sure comparing grimdark fantasy to A Song of Ice And Fire is thoroughly out of fashion by now, but the overall perspective really did strike me as incredibly similar to Martin’s, a lot of the time. ‘Legitimate’ power and ‘lawful’ authority are ultimately nothing but polite fictions maintained by violence, terror and brutal oppression. War is a hell suffered most keenly by civilians with the misfortune to live and die in the middle of it, and least of all by the people with the power who actually start and end them. A flawed and unequal peace is very often preferable to dragging everything to hell with you as you die for the sake of freedom. And so on.

Now, to start the nitpicking – this is entirely personal and aesthetic, but it was kind of annoying how each of the first two books ended in moments of megalomaniac grandeur and terrifying empowerment, and then the next book started with a timeskip of things having gone to shit and her back under someone else’s thumb, and then a solid majority of the text is spent getting manipulated, betrayed, and finally crawling and clawing her way back out to the same point (both emotionally and in terms of independence/vision) that she had been at the previous book’s climax.

This isn’t anything even close to unique to TPW, of course – everything going to shit between the end of one story and the start of the sequel is kind of endemic to a lot of genres, really. And it is frankly incredibly in character for Rin to go through cycles flipping between resentment at being manipulated and used, and desperately craving authority figures to tell her what she should do and give her validation as valuable or useful. Still a bit annoying to read, though.

I’m sure it’s more me than the books – not like they didn’t put in the effort – but I could just never get really invested in the whole enemies-to-almost-lovers-to-enemies-again-to-? Thing with Nezha. Like, he’s interesting in that you can do a 180 perspective flip and he’d clearly be just as suitable a protagonist as Rin is, and his life’s very sad and everything. But, like, we get a front row seat to Rin’s internal monologue, and she gets thirsty for plenty of terrible men (and one awful woman), the only thing that makes Nezha special is that he’s not at least twice her age. So I never really got nearly as emotionally invested in them as the books seemed to expect me to. Which does kind of hurt the whole final act of book three.

Speaking of – okay, the ending isn’t awful or anything, but it is kind of disappointing in being exactly what you would expect it to be, as far as Rin’s character arc goes? Which might be just because I was already primed to compare this to ASOIF and she just literally pulls a Daenerys (fire-aligned vengeance/justice character with revolutionary impulses and an autocratic sensibility is willing to burn down the world in the process of freeing it, goes mad with power and paranoia, needs to be put down for the good of the country), but still. Her reading Venka throwing her to the ground to avoid an assassination attempt as a betrayal and burning her to death before she realized what was happening was just really heavy handed, you know? Same with turning on Kitay, who at this point is her actual literal soulmate. (Also sad in a broader sense, because those two are like literally two of the only characters in the entire series I’d actually peg as worthy of/capable of being trusted with political power.)

The specifics aside, I’m a miserable enough person to appreciate how unsatisfying the actual resolution at the end of the book is – imperialism wins! Literally no choice but to sign those unequal treaties and hope you’re eventually able to grow strong enough to force them out! Everything is the same as before this forty-year cycle of wars except much, much worse! - but yeah, I really just don’t actually care about Nezha enough as a character for it to really land. Also Kitay and Venka deserved better, even if literally no one else did.

Anyway, yeah, good series. Would recommend if you like the genre and can stomach all the, well, everything.

#books #the poppy war #the dragon republic #the burning god #r. f. kuang #book review #in this essay I will #this is theoretically a writing blog